Like its predecessor, Carmageddon II was subject to criticism for the level of violence portrayed in the game. It is rated 15+ by ELSPA. In some countries, the pedestrians (and animals) are zombies, and blood is turned to green slime, while in Germany, aliens replaced the pedestrians. Internet-released 'blood patches' restore the original human pedestrians. The blood pack was later released in the United Kingdom in 1999, earning the game an 18 certificate.[9]
Carmageddon II was the first Carmageddon game to feature hardware acceleration, this was used for the higher quality damage models and higher quality levels.
Carmageddon II features new damage models for the vehicles, this includes car bodywork damage such as fenders and vehicle spoilers. Cars can also be split in half, instantly wasting them, but only if it is not repaired before it touches terrain.
Unlike the first game, Carmageddon II does not have "stealworthy cars", which are cars that have a chance to be taken if wrecked in a race and instead any car wrecked can be purchased.
The PC version received "favorable" reviews according to video game review aggregatorGameRankings, while the console versions received much lower scores.[12]
Official UK PlayStation Magazine was scathing of the gameplay of the PlayStation version, saying that "no amount of pureed pedestrian can cover its faults."[31] The Nintendo 64 port was ill-received, being N64 Magazine's lowest rated game at 8% from 1999 till 2004.[29]Hyper, on the other hand, gave the same port 85%, calling it "a success, and probably more suited to the Nintendo 64 than it ever was on the PC, as this is big arcade-style silly action."[34]
^IGN staff (November 24, 1998). "News Briefs". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 17, 1999. Retrieved April 25, 2021. Now Shipping: Interplay is now shipping Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now...
^Low, Bob (November 13, 1998). "Censor nonsense?". Daily Record. p. 61. Retrieved March 30, 2024. With the November 6 launch date approaching as fast as a...well...mad driver, SCi produced an "acceptable" version.
^Burgess, Andrew (November 16, 1998). "But it's only a game..."The Independent. Independent Digital News & Media Ltd. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.(subscription required)
^Lopez, Miguel (August 15, 2000). "Carmageddon 64 Review". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.